Daily News update on – Science

Spaceflight Now

Sierra Space is getting one step closer to finally seeing its Dream Chaser spaceplane reach the launch pad. The spacecraft completed its environmental testing at NASA’s Neil Armstrong Test Facility in Sandusky, Ohio, last week.

Space.com

NASA’s Juno spacecraft has spotted the elusive fifth moon of Jupiter transiting the giant planet’s Great Red Spot, giving astronomers a rare view of this small but intriguing natural satellite. Jupiter’s most famous moons are its four Galilean …

Space.com

“Objective is for the ship to get past max heating, or at least further than last time.” … We’re likely still a month or so away from the next launch of SpaceX’s Starship megarocket.

Spaceflight Now

Launch of a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket carrying Boeing’s Starliner capsule is slipping another four days, from Friday to next Tuesday, to give engineers time to make sure a helium leak in the crew ship’s propulsion system has been resolved, …

Space.com

The sunspot, designated, AR3664, has been crackling with solar flares for days. On May 10, it erupted with an X5.8-class flare, and within the past 12 hours, a trio of X-class flares erupted from the sun measuring at X1.7, X1.3 and a whopping X8.7, the …

CNN

A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket stands on the pad after the delayed launch of two astronauts aboard Boeing’s Starliner Crew Flight Test due to technical issues, in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Joe Skipper …

Space.com

The Curiosity team debated taking a detour to explore a rocky ridge but ultimately decided against it. black and white rocky landscape. (Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech). For the past month, NASA’s Curiosity rover has been shadowing Gediz Vallis, …

The Verge

Hundreds of millions of miles away, on the frigid surface of Mars, NASA’s Perseverance rover is hard at work, diligently gathering fresh samples of Martian rock, sealing them in pristine tubes, and leaving them on the surface ready for collection.

Space.com

A small asteroid flew very close to Earth Tuesday morning (May 14), just two days after it was discovered by astronomers. The asteroid 2024 JN16 is less than 15 feet (4 meters) wide — about the size of a car. It did not hit Earth but came within a mere …

Space.com

The crewed debut of Boeing’s Starliner capsule has been pushed back an additional four days. Starliner had been scheduled to lift off this Friday (May 17) on Crew Flight Test (CFT), a mission that will send NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch …